Bill Text: IL HB3773 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Amends the Smoke Detector Act. Provides that the battery for specified battery powered smoke detectors must be a self-contained long term battery if specified conditions occur. Provides that specified battery requirements do not apply to fire alarms, smoke detectors, smoke alarms, or ancillary components electronically connected to specified alarm systems; that use a low-power radio frequency wireless communication signal; that uses Wi-Fi or other Wireless Local Area Networking capability to send and receive specified notifications; or to devices as designated by the State Fire Marshal. Provides that certain smoke detector requirements do not apply to dwelling units and hotels within municipalities with a population over 1,000,000 inhabitants. Effective January 1, 2018.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-5)

Status: (Passed) 2017-08-18 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0200 [HB3773 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB3773-Introduced.html

---

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB3773 Introduced , by Rep. Kathleen Willis SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
425 ILCS 60/3 from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 803
Amends the Smoke Detector Act. Provides that the battery for specified battery powered smoke detectors must be a self-contained long term battery if specified conditions occur. Provides that specified battery requirements do not apply to fire alarms, smoke detectors, smoke alarms, or ancillary components electronically connected to specified alarm systems; that use a low-power radio frequency wireless communication signal; that uses Wi-Fi or other Wireless Local Area Networking capability to send and receive specified notifications; or to devices as designated by the State Fire Marshal. Effective January 1, 2018.
LRB100 10423 MJP 20626 b
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB3773 LRB100 10423 MJP 20626 b
AN ACT concerning safety.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Smoke Detector Act is amended by changing
Section 3 as follows:
(425 ILCS 60/3) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 803)
Sec. 3. (a) Every dwelling unit or hotel shall be equipped
with at least one approved smoke detector in an operating
condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping
purposes. The detector shall be installed on the ceiling and at
least 6 inches from any wall, or on a wall located between 4
and 6 inches from the ceiling.
(b) Every single family residence shall have at least one
approved smoke detector installed on every story of the
dwelling unit, including basements but not including
unoccupied attics. In dwelling units with split levels, a smoke
detector installed on the upper level shall suffice for the
adjacent lower level if the lower level is less than one full
story below the upper level; however, if there is an
intervening door between the adjacent levels, a smoke detector
shall be installed on each level.
(c) Every structure which (1) contains more than one
dwelling unit, or (2) contains at least one dwelling unit and

HB3773 - 2 - LRB100 10423 MJP 20626 b
is a mixed-use structure, shall contain at least one approved
smoke detector at the uppermost ceiling of each interior
stairwell. The detector shall be installed on the ceiling, at
least 6 inches from the wall, or on a wall located between 4
and 6 inches from the ceiling.
(d) It shall be the responsibility of the owner of a
structure to supply and install all required detectors. The
owner shall be responsible for making reasonable efforts to
test and maintain detectors in common stairwells and hallways.
It shall be the responsibility of a tenant to test and to
provide general maintenance for the detectors within the
tenant's dwelling unit or rooming unit, and to notify the owner
or the authorized agent of the owner in writing of any
deficiencies which the tenant cannot correct. The owner shall
be responsible for providing one tenant per dwelling unit with
written information regarding detector testing and
maintenance.
The tenant shall be responsible for replacement of any
required batteries in the smoke detectors in the tenant's
dwelling unit, except that the owner shall ensure that such
batteries are in operating condition at the time the tenant
takes possession of the dwelling unit. The tenant shall provide
the owner or the authorized agent of the owner with access to
the dwelling unit to correct any deficiencies in the smoke
detector which have been reported in writing to the owner or
the authorized agent of the owner.

HB3773 - 3 - LRB100 10423 MJP 20626 b
(e) The requirements of this Section shall apply to any
dwelling unit in existence on July 1, 1988, beginning on that
date. Except as provided in subsections (f) and (g), the smoke
detectors required in such dwelling units may be either:
battery powered provided the battery is a self-contained long
term battery, or wired into the structure's AC power line, and
need not be interconnected.
(1) The battery requirements of this Section shall
apply to battery powered smoke detectors that: (A) are in
existence and exceed 10 years from the date of their being
manufactured; (B) fails to respond to operability tests or
otherwise malfunctions; or (C) are newly installed.
(2) The battery requirements of this Section do not
apply to: (A) a fire alarm, smoke detector, smoke alarm, or
ancillary component that is electronically connected as a
part of a centrally monitored or supervised alarm system;
(B) a fire alarm, smoke detector, smoke alarm, or ancillary
component that uses: (i) a low-power radio frequency
wireless communication signal, or (ii) Wi-Fi or other
wireless Local Area Networking capability to send and
receive notifications to and from the Internet, such as
early low battery warnings before the device reaches a
critical low power level; or (C) such other devices as the
State Fire Marshal shall designate through its regulatory
process.
(f) In the case of any dwelling unit that is newly

HB3773 - 4 - LRB100 10423 MJP 20626 b
constructed, reconstructed, or substantially remodelled after
December 31, 1987, the requirements of this Section shall apply
beginning on the first day of occupancy of the dwelling unit
after such construction, reconstruction or substantial
remodelling. The smoke detectors required in such dwelling unit
shall be permanently wired into the structure's AC power line,
and if more than one detector is required to be installed
within the dwelling unit, the detectors shall be wired so that
the actuation of one detector will actuate all the detectors in
the dwelling unit.
In the case of any dwelling unit that is newly constructed,
reconstructed, or substantially remodeled on or after January
1, 2011, smoke detectors permanently wired into the structure's
AC power line must also maintain an alternative back-up power
source, which may be either a battery or batteries or an
emergency generator.
(g) Every hotel shall be equipped with operational portable
smoke-detecting alarm devices for the deaf and hearing impaired
of audible and visual design, available for units of occupancy.
Specialized smoke-detectors for the deaf and hearing
impaired shall be available upon request by guests in such
hotels at a rate of at least one such smoke detector per 75
occupancy units or portions thereof, not to exceed 5 such smoke
detectors per hotel. Incorporation or connection into an
existing interior alarm system, so as to be capable of being
activated by the system, may be utilized in lieu of the

HB3773 - 5 - LRB100 10423 MJP 20626 b
portable alarms.
Operators of any hotel shall post conspicuously at the main
desk a permanent notice, in letters at least 3 inches in
height, stating that smoke detector alarm devices for the deaf
and hearing impaired are available. The proprietor may require
a refundable deposit for a portable smoke detector not to
exceed the cost of the detector.
(g-5) A hotel, as defined in this Act, shall be responsible
for installing and maintaining smoke detecting equipment.
(h) Compliance with an applicable federal, State or local
law or building code which requires the installation and
maintenance of smoke detectors in a manner different from this
Section, but providing a level of safety for occupants which is
equal to or greater than that provided by this Section, shall
be deemed to be in compliance with this Section, and the
requirements of such more stringent law shall govern over the
requirements of this Section.
(i) The requirements of this Section shall not apply to
dwelling units and hotels within municipalities with a
population over 1,000,000 inhabitants.
(Source: P.A. 96-1292, eff. 1-1-11; 97-447, eff. 1-1-12.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2018.